Wim Van der Vegt

RAGE Architecture for Reusable Serious Gaming Technology Components

For seizing the potential of serious games, the RAGE project—funded by the Horizon-2020 Programme of the European Commission—will make available an interoperable set of advanced technology components software assets that support game studios at serious game development. This paper describes the overall software architecture and design conditions that are needed for the easy integration and reuse of such software assets in existing game platforms. Based on the component-based software engineering paradigm the RAGE architecture takes into account the portability of assets to different operating systems, different programming languages, and different game engines. It avoids dependencies on external software frameworks and minimises code that may hinder integration with game engine code. Furthermore it relies on a limited set of standard software patterns and well-established coding practices. The RAGE architecture has been successfully validated by implementing and testing basic software assets in four major programming languages C#, C++, Java, and TypeScript/JavaScript, resp.. Demonstrator implementation of asset integration with an existing game engine was created and validated. The presented RAGE architecture paves the way for large scale development and application of cross-engine reusable software assets for enhancing the quality and diversity of serious gaming.

Architectures for Developing Multiuser, Immersive Learning Scenarios

Multiuser immersive learning scenarios hold strong potential for lifelong learning as they can support the acquisition of higher order skills in an effective, efficient, and attractive way. Existing virtual worlds, game development platforms, and game engines only partly cater for the proliferation of such learning scenarios as they are often inadequately tuned for learning. First, this study aims to identify architectures that more effectively support the development of multiuser immersive learning scenarios. Second, this study takes up the challenge to define and assemble more flexible architectures that cater for fast and easy development, which will become important in the current period of economic breakdown. Third, this study describes how such architectures should enable research into guidelines for multiuser immersive learning scenario design and development. This study outlines a method for defining and setting up such architectures by using experts and existing literature.

Tools and Techniques for Placement Experiments

In Chap. 11 we presented placement in the context of Accreditation of Prior Learning and showed that in the scenario we address we do not assume the availability of controlled vocabulary with which the contents of the learner portfolio or the learning material in the learning network is described. Our placement service is based on the assumption that similarity between material produced or studied by the learner on the one hand and the learning material of the learning network on the other, can be used as a proxy to similarity in learning outcomes. The first task of any such placement service is therefore to establish whether these similarities are present for a given learner. The technology with which this is done, latent semantic analysis, is presented here. The emphasis here is on the technical and computational aspects of data preparation and analysis. Open image in new window

Making Serious Games with Reusable Software Components

This paper explains the RAGE project, which proposes a component-based software architecture to accommodate and amplify serious game development. The RAGE project (rageproject.eu) is a serious gaming flagship project funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Commission. Compliancy with the component-based architecture preserves the portability of software to different platforms and programming languages and its easy integration in wide variety of game engines. RAGE has developed up to 40 cutting edge reusable software components (all free, open source software) and has made these available on its market place portal at gamecomponents.eu.

Automated Adaptation and Assessment in Serious Games: A Portable Tool for Supporting Learning

We introduce the Adaptation and Assessment (TwoA) component, an open-source tool for serious games, capable of adjusting game difficulty to player skill level. Technically, TwoA is compliant with the RAGE (Horizon 2020) game component architecture, which offers seamless portability to a variety of popular game development platforms. Conceptually, TwoA uses a modified version of the Computer Adaptive Practice algorithm. Our version offers two improvements over the original algorithm. First, TwoA improves the balancing of a player’s motivation and game challenge. Second, TwoA reduces the selection bias that may arise for items of similar difficulty by adopting a fuzzy selection rule. The improvements are validated using multi-agent simulations.

Efficient Software Assets for Fostering Learning in Applied Games

Digital game technologies are a promising way to enable training providers to reach other target groups, namely those who are not interested in traditional learning technologies. Theoretically, through using digital game technologies we are able to foster the acquisition of any competence by specifying competency structures, offering adequate problem solving support while maintaining motivation and taking personality into consideration as part of the tailored game experience. In this paper, we illustrate how this is done within the RAGE project, which aims to develop, transform, and enrich advanced technologies into self-contained gaming assets for the leisure games industry to support game studios in developing applied games easier, faster, and more cost effectively. The software assets discussed here represent a modular approach for fostering learning in applied games. These assets address four main pedagogical functions: competency structures (i.e., logical order for learning), motivation, performance support (i.e., guidance to maintain learning), and adaption to the player’s personality.